Public urged not to share viral ‘how to spread Wuhan’ video made by youngsters in Singapore

Two youngsters in Singapore have come under fire for uploading a video showing them trying out drinks in a supermarket and then placing the sampled items back on the shelves. The video was captioned 'how to spread Wuhan'. — Screengrab from Twitter

Singapore-based supermarket chain NTUC Fairprice has urged members of the public not to share a viral Instagram video depicting a man trying out various bottled drinks and putting the sampled items back on the shelf, according to a statement on Facebook.

Filmed by an unidentified person, the video, which included the caption "how to spread Wuhan" with a smiley emoji, has sparked anger amid growing concerns of coronavirus cases in Singapore.

The supermarket chain said it is taking the matter seriously as the video has sparked unnecessary public alarm, adding that the public should refrain from sharing the video to avoid causing further distress.

"We will be working with the authorities on the necessary actions that need to be taken for this case," NTUC Fairprice said in the statement.

The 26 second-long Instagram clip was believed to have been brought to public attention by another unidentified person, who downloaded the video and uploaded it to Twitter on Feb 6 to slam the actions made by the individuals in the video.

The person recording the video can be heard asking his friend, a man wearing a white cap, if a drink is "nice or not?". The friend responded with "try lah", then took a drink from the shelf, tasted it and placed it back on the shelf. The person wearing the cap was also seen trying out another drink.

According to Singapore website Mothership, a separate user responded to the tweet claiming the individuals involved in making the video had already paid for the drink. The user added: "We were just making a joke..." and blamed the person who called them out on Twitter for posting the video just to gain "clout" or Internet popularity.

The portal later reported that the creators of the video had issued a public apology after the video went viral, saying the video was made out of "stupidity" and for their "own pleasure".

"We indeed took the drink off the shelves and drank it. Although we indeed paid for the drinks in the end, there is no excuse that the video we posted was not right," the statement read.

They claimed to be "still young and studying" and asked for a second chance.